Angel of Darkness Books 6-10

by Mackenzie Morris

  "Well-fed, well-rested, and as trained as they're going to be. They know what they're doing."

  "Good, good. Your squad will be Squad Six. I want you to head out with some of the horses and set up bases along the roads leading into and out of Vilyron. Set up traps and ambushes in the forests and the river bluffs. Fight from the shadows."

  "That's what my boys do best."

  "Good. Head out when you're ready. Do you have the smoke canisters that Liam made for you?" Jeremiah asked.

  "Yes. We have them at the ready."

  "Perfect. Only signal me when you have engaged the enemy. Do not give away your position before then. You remember the color signals?"

  Leader retrieved a small pad of paper from his belt and flipped through it. "Green is victory. Yellow is reinforcements requested. Blue is all clear. White is retreat. Red is only to be used in catastrophic situations."

  "Very good. Squads one through five are already on their way to the western and southern borders."

  "Are we going into this war without pursuing the lead Amari left for us?" Leader asked, turning his attention back to his men who were securing packs to the backs of their horses.

  "What lead? Going after the captured dragons? No way. That is a very dangerous mission, one that I am not willing to risk lives on."

  "So you're perfectly fine with letting Carvael's angels have them for battle?" Leader asked.

  "No, I'm not fine with it. But I have to weigh risks."

  One of the soldiers pointed to the sky. "Commander, signal across the forest."

  A plume of yellow smoke rose above the cliffs in the distance to the east. Another soon joined it, coming from the same area. Jeremiah retrieved the map from the pocket of his jacket and unrolled it. Squads two and three were stationed in that relative area with four of Jeremiah's angels. That many soldiers and angels should have been able to deal with most any force. Unless it was a complete invasion.

  The centaur with the long blue hair raced up to Jeremiah and bowed. "Commander, do you feel it? Something's not right. I can feel the otherworld, The Rift."

  "Do you think a rift is opening nearby?"

  "It's something much bigger than that. Your orders, sir?"

  Jeremiah studied the map for a few seconds before pointing towards the yellow smoke signals. "Naomi, you go with Leader's squad to check out the reason for the signals. Take a falcon with you to send a message back as soon as you figure out what is going on."

  "Yes, sir."

  Jeremiah finished giving orders to his commanders before turning towards the tent at the end of the row. He kept an eye to the sky in case any other smoke signals showed up. The Ka'taylin was already standing outside. "Karix, are you and Liam prepared to scout out the enemy forces?"

  Karix shook his head. "No."

  "Why not? I need you in your dragon form and for the two of you to be able to go immediately."

  "Liam is dead."

  Jeremiah gasped then pushed past the tent flap. He covered his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his grey canvas coat. "What happened?"

  Blood covered the blankets, the sheets, the floor, and the walls of the tent. Wet pools of dark blood and vomit lined the floor, leaving little clean in the tent. A lifeless pale hand could be seen from underneath the ripped sheets.

  "His heart stopped. He's not breathing and he's cold. I messed up, Jeremiah. I messed up badly. At first, I didn't want things to go this far. Then I couldn't stop it."

  "What did you do?" Jeremiah walked over to the sheets then lifted one up to see the boy's cold body. It was mangled and black and blue with bruises. Three long scratches ran down Liam's back, each one the same size. "Sola's rays . . . last night you told me he was sick. This is no sickness I have ever seen."

  "He was sick."

  "These look like dragon claw marks. He's all wet." Jeremiah continued examining the body. "It seems as though there is water in his lungs. You breathe water, don't you, Karix?"

  "I do."

  Jeremiah stood back up and straightened his canvas coat. "As commander of this military and the ruler of this country, I need to know what is going on in my camp. Tell me the truth. Karix, did you kill your mate? Did you kill Liam?"

  "I tortured him then drowned him. Yep."

  "Why?"

  Karix shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "He was sick. That part was true. Then I got so frustrated with Xair coming back that I took all that anger out on Liam. He was already dying, so I didn't see the issue with it. Just give him about six hours and he will be alive again. It's not a big deal."

  "Not a big deal? You tortured your mate to death. I thought dragons cared for their riders."

  "I do care about Liam. He will wake up with some extra scars, but he won't remember anything. Then I can do it again. He's my own personal punching bag. Sometimes I just have to kill something, you know? And Liam has the cutest little screams. I loved it when I would pull his head out of the water and he would cough and beg me for mercy. Then I had the wonderful privilege of watching those emerald eyes fade away."

  How truly callous could someone be? Jeremiah felt sick. "Karix, this is unacceptable. What if he does not wake back up?"

  "He will. He is immortal in ways even angels and Ka'taylins aren't. His body has regenerative properties and extreme trauma won't keep him dead for long."

  "I cannot condone this behavior. Karix, please surrender and come quietly. I will have to keep you in chains until Liam wakes back up."

  "You cannot condone this behavior?" Karix snorted indignantly. "That's an interesting claim coming from the seraph with most of his goddess Sola's soul trapped in that red sun sigil pendant around his neck."

  "You do not know that. No one knows that."

  "But I do. You keep her trapped there to keep you company. I also know what happened in your tent last night with Queen Sela. Is that how you normally work out an alliance? You know, for a seraph who claims to not know much about human nature, you sure do have human urges."

  "Shut up, dragon. Fine. You keep my secret and I'll keep yours. Just know that if anyone hears Liam's screams or your torturing of him or if they find this bloody mess, I will not cover it up."

  "Deal."

  Jeremiah once again pulled out his map and tapped the parchment with his finger. "I need you to get into the air and head east to find out why my squads are calling for reinforcements."

  "What about Liam?"

  "He's your rider. Put him on your back and carry him around until he wakes up. You can't keep him here in this state. I have enough problems to tend to without doting over a dead boy and his sadistic dragon."

  Chapter 15

  Day One: Morning

  Eastern Coast, Calchedona, Vilyron

  Eternal Eclipse Invasion Force

  The wind whipped through Jaylen's hair as he sat on Pegasa's back surrounded by ten squads of twenty men each, all in full plate armor or chainmail. Jaylen watched the snow slowly falling and being blown on the wind coming off the ocean behind them. The barren land near the shore was empty aside from a few allied ships in the harbor. He practiced moving his arms in the strange white plate armor covered in golden sun sigils that Carvael had insisted he wear. It was lighter than any armor he had ever worn, including his chainmail. The curves of the armor clung to his body while leaving no area vulnerable. It was breathable yet warm enough to keep him from shivering in the cold.

  Zeriel rode up next to him, wearing his own suit of black armor. "How does it fit?"

  "Not how I thought full plate would fit. It's light."

  "Because yours is made from dragon scales. Carvael harvested them."

  "And by harvested, you mean killed a dragon to get the scales."

  "More than likely. Carvael will sacrifice anything to get what he wants. Right now, you are what he wants. Be careful, though. If he feels like you aren't fully cooperative or beneficial enough, he will not hesitate to leave you lost and with nothing. Are you ready for this, Jay? We will be ripping open The Ri
ft in a canyon not far from here then marching with the demons towards Ilyan. It's close to one hundred miles from here to the capital. There is no telling what kind of resistance Jeremiah has put in place for just this development."

  Jaylen picked up his tall white and silver helmet with slots only for his eyes then slid it on. It too was comfortable, and for more than being lightweight dragon scales. It was calming to be somewhat removed from the world around him. Behind his helmet, he could hide away his true feelings that would inevitably be written all over his face.

  "You can't hide from me, Jay. And you won't be able to hide from our friends. They will know exactly who you are in your white armor and golden sun sigils, especially seeing as you'll be leading this charge."

  "Don't remind me."

  "You sound so little behind that helmet. It reminds me of how you were when you were younger."

  "Just shut up, okay? Focus on the battle and preparations. I'm not in the mood to play games with you, Zeriel."

  "Right side. You want to talk to him, though."

  A horse walked up beside him and stopped. A man's voice was quiet as he spoke. "Hey."

  Jaylen looked over to see the red-haired incubus in studded leather armor with a white mask covering his face around his eyes. "Gavin?"

  Gavin gave a tiny smile, but his orange eyes showed anything but happiness. His ankles were chained to the stirrups of the saddle and his wrists were locked in tight shackles. A fresh bruise was swollen and darkening on his lower left cheek. "You like your armor?"

  "Tell me the truth, Gavin. Are you okay?" Jaylen asked.

  "After Xair's soul left my body, I was a great deal better than I had been. I'm still recovering parts of my mind and my memories. I can't focus on anything for more than a few minutes. Then I lose memory of it again. Carvael is going to make me fight, you know? Though judging by these chains and my lack of a weapon, I'd say all his experiments he conducted on me to make me into his perfect weapon failed. I think I'm going to be bait."

  "Bait?"

  "To lure out the enemies. I'll get hurt. I'm not afraid of that. Carvael won't let me die because when I die, he dies. But I will get hurt for the sake of this plan. I do care about Carvael, but he's insane. You never should have joined Eternal Eclipse. I know about Xair and I know what the angels did to him, but you have to understand why they did what they did. You being here accomplishes nothing good. You may be Finalis, but you don't have to destroy everything."

  Jaylen didn't respond.

  They rode along the dirt paths that wound through the rocky countryside for around two hours before Carvael landed in front of them and held his hand in the air to stop them. He looked around at the tall red rock canyon walls where a river had once divided the land long before. The snow had tapered off, but it left behind a thin layer that covered the fresh green grass. Tiny red sparrows hopped along the top of the canyon nearly one hundred feet above the troops as they pecked their beaks through the snow to search for insects.

  Jaylen removed his helmet then breathed in the fresh cold air. As he sat back in the saddle and ran his hand through his sweaty hair, he examined the quiet stillness around them. No one said a word. The wind howled as it was funneled down into the canyon. The horses snorted and stomped their hooves against the cold ground and granite rocks that rested below the snow layer. Jaylen took another breath, but then stopped. He sniffed a few times then looked over at Zeriel. "Do you smell that? It smells like oatmeal."

  "I can't smell anything over these horses." Zeriel's nose crinkled as he grimaced. "Actually, I do smell it now that you mention it. Weird. Who could be making oatmeal out here?"

  Sulstair dismounted his horse then slipped his brass knuckles onto his hands. His waist-length black hair blew in the wind around his long grey ears as he pushed past Carvael to stand in the middle of the canyon. "It's here. The weak point in The Rift. Jaylen, see that shimmering clear barrier up there in the mage-glow? Get up there and slice your sword through it. Hell's flames will rend it in half to allow the influx of energy to push all the demons and creatures from the otherworld into this world. My mages, I need you all to be prepared to leash these demons and bend them to your will."

  Jaylen leaned forward in his saddle to address the necromancer. "Sulstair, your mages can leash demons? That is a Ka'taylin art."

  "Yes. Where do you think I got my mages?"

  Fifty men in long red robes stepped forward, every inch of their bodies and faces covered in the flowing thick fabric. All at once, they reached up and pushed their massive hoods back to reveal their white hair, black skin, and purple eyes. Male pure Ka'taylins. The men then removed their robes until they were wearing only studded leather pants and knee-high boots with large golden buckles and decorative chains that wrapped around their ankles. Upon further examination, they were not decorative. They were enchanted gold to keep them from using their magic. A sinking feeling filled Jaylen's stomach as he looked at the enslaved Ka'taylins. None of them had any runes, but he knew that was going to change shortly.

  "See? Pure Ka'taylins I bought from some slavers a few years ago. Aren't they beautiful? Perfectly trained and obedient like dogs." Sulstair snapped his bony fingers then grinned darkly as the mages all dropped to one knee with their fists over their hearts. "See? Ka'taylins are so easy to enslave because they have a genetic fear of pain and anyone more powerful than them. They've never had to deal with being conquered or dominated before. They fall effortlessly into undying submission at the crack of a whip."

  Jaylen's right hand tightened into a fist. There was no part of him that would ever support slavery. As an ex-slave himself, he hated it beyond words. Now these poor souls would be subjected to having multiple runes placed in their skin just so Eternal Eclipse could open The Rift? His internal rebellion flared up for only a couple of minutes before he released his anger and remembered the true purpose here. There was no reason to make a move too early.

  "Go on, Jaylen, whenever you're ready."

  Jaylen placed his helmet back over his head then drew his longsword from the saddle. "So I just fly up there and slash through that barrier?"

  "Yes. That should be just about it. Then you'll want to get away from it as soon as you can."

  Jaylen calmed his mind to allow Finalis to take control of his body. His white glowing wings and ethereal left hand appeared as Hell's flames spread down his blade. He grabbed Pegasa's reins in his magical hand then bid her to fly. Just as she leapt into the air, something caught Jaylen's attention out of the corner of his eye. Before he could shout out a warning, someone screamed behind him.

  One of the soldiers was thrown backwards from his horse with a black arrow sticking out of the middle of his chest. It has pierced all the way through his chainmail. Everyone drew their weapons, but then started running as the cloud of arrows darkened the sky.

  "Run!" Carvael ordered as he flew up above them. "Get down and out of range of the arrows. Jaylen, open the rift."

  "But the arrows-"

  "Get up there or we're all going to die!"

  Jaylen stood up on the saddle then jumped as fast as he could into the sky. He spread his wings then sheltered his body behind them, watching the arrows ricochet off of the glowing feathers. That's when he saw the scouts peeking out from their hiding places in the snow on the top of the cliffs. They readied their bows to shoot again, but Jaylen ignored them. He flew up to the barrier then sliced through it with all his strength.

  An explosion sent Jaylen flying backwards uncontrollably where he was thrown to the ground on top of the right edge of the canyon. Before he could get to his feet, a single black rose petal drifted down to land next to his face. He knew he was in trouble. Rolling to his left, he barely avoided Nimiel's thin shortswords that dug deeply into the soil.

  Jaylen hurried to his feet and found his fiery sword nearby where it had been dislodged from his hand in his fall. He pried it out of the ground then watched as nearly one hundred scouts in leather armor and white camoufla
ged cloaks jumped down into the masses of demons and soldiers to engage them.

  The gurgling and screeching of the demons and otherworldly creatures that spilled from The Rift did little to distract Jaylen from the immediate danger of the young seraph's blades. Down in the canyon, the Eternal Eclipse soldiers faced off with Nimiel's scouts as the Ka'taylin slaves casted their elemental magic and leashed the numerous demons. They cried out from the pain of instantly gaining hundreds of white runes into their skin. The gryphons, centaurs, faeries, and other creatures were either slaughtered where they stood or lassoed and secured in ropes to be trained at a later date.

  Jaylen met eyes with Nimiel through his helmet. Neither one of them made another move. Neither one of them swung their swords at the other as the war raged on below them. The sky pulsed with arcane energy from the shadowy magic that swirled around the ripped barrier. The Ka'taylin magic popped in the air with bolts of electricity, surging floods, blazing infernos, and earth-shattering quakes. But up on the edge of the cliff, only a breeze blew stray snow flurries between the two young men.

  Nimiel twirled his swords in his hands in a deadly flourish of agile talent then pointed the sharpened tips at Jaylen. "I am under direct orders from Jeremiah to kill you on sight."

  "And I am under direct orders from Carvael to kill you on sight as well."

  "Why did you join Carvael?" Nimiel asked, almost sounding hurt at the idea. "The Jaylen I knew would never have betrayed his friends like this."

  Jaylen held up his glowing hand as his light magic swirled around his body, glimmering against the polished surface of his white armor. "The Jaylen you knew is dead."

  Nimiel's grey eyes narrowed as he spread out his black wings. A couple of black rose petals drifted down from his crown to the snowy ground. "Fine. Then I won't feel bad when I gut you like a fish."

  "I'd like to see you try." Jaylen lunged towards the seraph and swung at him, but he was too slow.